Living on one Dollar

I like documentaries and I just watched one you should see.

I is called "Living on one Dollar" and it is about four college guys who tried living in a village in Guatemala for two months.  During that time, they attempted to learn about the lives of the people and they tried to live under the same circumstances and restrictions as those around them.

If you have "Netfix" and an hour, go and check it out.  It will change the way you see your life and the way you think about the world.... and that is a good thing because it is easy to think that everyone lives like us or that (somehow) our lives are hard when they really are not at all.

Or go to their website and check them out here......  http://livingonone.org/livingonone/

Yahoo!!

A buddy of mine had a 2000 Dodge Durango that had turned a bearing, so he and I decided to tear it apart and fix it.  Then, once we got started, we decided rather that fixing that one problem, we may as well rebuild the entire engine.   That was in November.  After four months of working on it most Fridays (my day off), taking out every part and piece, having the block dipped and cleaned and then putting it all back together, yesterday was "D day".  Here is what we got........

Glow Bowling O-Rama

So we all went bowling last night. It was a lot of fun!  I won't tell you who is who on the scoreboard... I will let you try to figure it out.  :)

You know it is cold when.....

You know it is cold when the sun dogs are so bright that you can't stare at them.  Yikers!

Sari Snowblower

Sari learned a new skill today.  For all your snow removal needs, call.......  :)

Bienfait Hockey Tournament

So I got to play in a charity hockey tournament in Bienfait this weekend. A team dropped out and they just started calling guys to make up the fourth team.

That was a bad thing!

None of us had played together before. In fact, most of us could not remember the names of the other guys on the team and we were playing three teams that were very strong.... good players who have played together forever.

Needless to say, we got whipped.

 I think we lost 12-0 in our first game (we were just trying to figure out who was playing where in that one).... then we lost 8-4 (started playing consistent lines and figuring things out a bit).... then we lost 8-2 (but the good news for me is that I scored both of our goals.... I should have had a third but their goalie made a nice glove save).

Anyway, below is a little bit of the "action" (if you can call it that) that Sari recorded in the beautiful "Bienfait Memorial Arena". I am number 17 in white. In fact, I am the only guy wearing a white helmet... Something that Sari noted and rectified by buying me a nice, new, shiny black one for Valentine's Day. After wearing the old one for 25 years, it was time I guess (besides, now I fit in a little better with my friends!) :)

You need to hear this

I have been meaning to post this song for a long time, so when I heard it on the way home today I decided to look it up.

As the Dad of two beautiful and wonderful girls and the husband of another.... I hope they get this.  :)

Have a listen.....

See what we saw!

Yesterday Sari and I took a drive in the country.  Here is what we found.....

We came across this old coal mine.....

 Talking to the old guys at church today, I found out that this is a rebuilt mine entrance... it is not original and there was even some debate as to whether there was ever a coal mine in that spot (three said yes another said that he was not sure).... but they all agreed that it is a good representation of what the old mines looked like around here..... and there used to be hundreds of them.  Funny thing is, I have driven the valley a lot and I have never seen that before.

We found several old abandoned farm yards.  Lots of stone foundation barns.  We even found one beautiful old, huge, two story house in the valley bottom right by the river.  Would have been very impressive when it was occupied, but for some reason we did not get a picture of it.  Here are a few that Sari did take.....

Then we kept coming across old cars and stuff in people's yards.   Here is a good project for someone (I am sure a little buffing would make it look good again)......

 These will take a little more effort.....

We did not see many people on our tour. In fact, this guy is about the only living thing that paid much attention to us (it was getting to be near supper time for him I think as he was really interested in what we were up to)......

And the photographer out snooping around (When you see her next, ask her about getting lost in North Portal)  :)

 As I said, there was a lot more cool stuff that we did not stop and take pictures of just for time's sake as we gone for about three hours as it was.... but there were lots of picture worthy things like old houses, the river snaking across the valley, interesting looking old trees, hawks flying around, former town sites, kids sledding down a hill, etc etc).

There are cool and interesting things everywhere.... you just have to look for them. 

Well, its been awkward!

For those who don't know, our church baptizes people in a big water tank in our church building.  The process looks something like this......

Ok - it looks like that except we are inside, I have less hair than that dude and we usually don't have some blonde kid looking over our shoulders.  Other than that, it is similar.  I go into the water with the people and we "immerse" them.

The problem is that we don't have fancy, white baptismal clothes like the dudes in the picture.  We used to, but, honestly, it is hard to find "one size fits all" clothing that actually fits all and works well when wet.... so now I just tell people to wear whatever they want and we just go from there.

Well, two weeks ago I was about to baptize this really nice couple who has been coming to church for the last couple of years.  They invited their adult kids to come and they wanted me to explain to them what baptism was all about so that they would understand.

So there I was, standing in front of about 20 family members, explaining something that we believe is very important.  All was going well... until I got to the end of my explanation.

I had previously decided that I would not get changed before I baptized them.  It was Sunday afternoon and I was still wearing the dress clothes that I had worn to church that morning and I figured I would just go in the water wearing those.  Therefore, when it came time for the baptism I simply reached up and (while still talking) started undoing my tie.  Then, taking my eyes off the group, I bent over and took off my shoes.

And then everyone got really quiet

When I looked up again the entire family had this "I am not sure what baptism is all about but if he does not stop taking things off we are leaving"  sort of look on their faces. 

Feeling like I maybe made a bit of a mistake and looking for some assurance, I turned to Sari and the girls..... they were giving me the wide-eyed, "Please stop what you are doing.... RIGHT NOW!!!!" look.

So apparently there is a reason why we have change rooms.

People are such prudes!!!   :)

Friday Night Projects

Tank restoration on a 1983 Honda CX500 half way done. Make a deal on the bike right now and you get to pick the colour!  :)

Give this a listen

I don't know what is going on with their outfits.... or with the entire video for that matter.... but I came across this today and I had to share it.  This is worth hearing and remembering!  (And the video will likely make you smile too)  :)

An Afternoon Hike

Sari took this "selfie" (actually it is an "us-ie" because it is of "us") on a hike that we took down in Woodlawn this afternoon.  It is really nice down in the trees. 

Ba Ha Ha!!

You should watch this right to the end.... but make sure you at least get to the 1:20 mark or so.... good stuff!  :)

Sari Doing Good Stuff in the Community

I always tease Sari about how much she is in the local newspaper. It seems like it is every other week. Here she is getting a cheque for $18 807.50 to go towards Hillcrest School's new playground stuff (I tried to tell her to scratch the name off of there and put ours in and cash it, but she did not think the bank actually took those big cheques. Not to mention the fact that it was the bank that gave the money in the first place... so they likely would have figured it out).

I think we have a winner

Sometimes the best ideas are not new ideas, but rather new combinations of old ideas.

For example, I was listening to the radio today and a couple of  back-to-back commercials gave me a great new business idea.

I am going to rent two connected spaces in a strip mall.  In one store, I am going to offer a hair removal service.  Then in the other store I am going to offer a hair restoration service. 

This business idea address two separate needs while also creating its own "product supply chain"..... Take hair off of those who do not want it.... walk through the door that joins my two spaces..... and put it on people who need hair. 


"Hair gone" and "Hair on"........ coming to a strip mall near you. 

Special couples rates available!  You figure out who needs less hair and who needs more..... half price!

Who is first???????  Comment below to make an appointment.

It's getting CRAZY around here!!!!

So far, my January could be described in one word......

HHHHHWWWWWAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!   (Pronunciation Key: Think about the sound a depressed moose would make and go from there)

In other words, it has not been that exciting....... UNTIL TODAY!!!!

I was sitting at my desk when this HOT CHICK called me (Is "HOT CHICK" the politically correct term????  I can't keep up.......) and said, "Hey Baby!!  Wanna go out for lunch?"

Now I know what you are thinking......

"Lunch????  OUT?????  On a WEDNESDAY!!?????"

But deal with it!   That is how we roll...... no rules!!!!

Then she sweetened the pot...... "We can even go to A and W so you can get a TEEN BURGER!!!"

Now here is the thing:  She knows that the way to my heart is through bacon.  (Actually - that is a scientific fact.... My doctor even said that was true.  Well, at least he said something about "bacon" and "my heart" - I wasn't really listening.   And why would I?   If he is insulting bacon, he is obviously a quack!).

But wait...... it gets even more crazy.......

WE HAD COUPONS......AND DIDN'T EVEN USE THEM!!!!

Weird hey?   We were a block from home when I picked her up from school....  the coupons had not expired......we could have come and got them.... but we didn't!!!

Then to top it all off...... are you ready?????

I let her upgrade her regular fries to sweet potato fries!!!!

That's right...... I brought out the "Special Wallet"!!!! 

And we didn't even plan any of this...... IT - JUST - HAPPENED!!!!

I can't wait for tomorrow!!!

#mylifeisnotthatexciting

PS.  The dude in the picture is not me.  It is not even a "Reasonable Facsimile".  One of us is OBVIOUSLY less dorky looking than the other...... you can figure it out for yourself!

A cool video

Check this out..... sort of cool.  :)

My New TV Show

Sari and I like watching a TV show called "House Hunters International" mostly because we get to see a bunch of different places in the world. 

Interestingly, most of the people on that show end up saying something like this.... "We are moving to _________ (fill in the blank) because we want a slower pace of life and more family time".

That is a great thing!  I am all for "slower pace" and "more family time"..... and so I have come up with an entirely new TV show..... it is going to be called "House Havers".

The premise of "House Havers" will be simple..... I show you the house that you currently live in and then...... wait for it....... you DON"T MOVE ANYWHERE AND YOU SIMPLY DECIDE TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY!!!!!

I know... it is a crazy concept.... but here is the thing..... it will save you tens of thousands of dollars in moving costs.... you will not have to look for a new job..... you will still have the same friends that you have had for years..... and you will be happier.

My part in the show will be to come in and say "Stop it" until you have time to spend with your family. 

Are you running your kids to 93469684938690438 activities????  Stop it!!!  If you lived in Bolivia your child would likely not attend "Advanced Oboe class" so why bother with it here???? 

Are you running out to see the latest movie every other night???? Stop it!!  If you lived in the outback of Australia, you would probably go watch the sunset instead of a movie (and here is a hint..... the sun sets here too..... EVERYDAY!!!).

The tagline to my show will be.... "You can live a slower pace wherever you are!" 

And then I will take the moving costs that you saved and call it my "consulting fee" so that I can move to some exotic place with a slower pace of life and enjoy more time with my family.  :)

Who wants to be first?????

I need your help!

Sara won't let me dry my hockey equipment in the house!

I know that may not seem like a big deal, but here is the thing..... she dries all kinds of HER stuff in laundry room (sweaters, shirts and things), but - for some strange and unknown reason - I have to dry my stuff in garage!  Is that fair?

Now, I will admit that I have not washed my hockey undershirt in literally more than 10 years and - yes -  the last time I took it out of my bag it was covered in a bunch of white stuff (could have been dried sweat.... maybe it was mold.... it is really hard to say without some sort of chemical analysis), but the point is that I wore it anyway.  If I can put up with the smell of that stuff on me, surely she can put up with the smell of it in the house, right?

Why should you care about this?  Well, a society is only as strong as those that they stand-up for.  Oppression, in all its forms, is wrong!  If I am being oppressed, then it should matter to you!

Besides, my garage really stinks now! :)

(PS.  The funniest part of this is that I planned out this blog last night and said nothing to Sari about it.  Then this morning I was giving her a ride to work and when she walked into the garage she said, "Oooh, it stinks in here!!!"   So at least you know that I am sort of telling the truth)  :)

Impending Doom!!!!?????

So the holidays are over! 

If getting to hang out with people you love and getting to do some things that you like to do is the benchmark of a good holiday, then ours was great!  Sari and I got to hang out with our parents and most of our siblings (though we did miss seeing some of them - sorry guys).  We got to see nieces and nephews.  We received some very nice and thoughtful gifts from family and friends (I will say more about that in a later blog possibly). 

I got to go to a Moose Jaw Warriors hockey game and a couple of Bruins games.  I even dragged myself to noon hockey (which was a lot of fun!).  I played Scrabble with Sari (don't ask who won - I don't want to talk about it) and Crokinole with Megan, Connor, Emily and my brother Lenny.  We ate too much.  We stayed up too late.  We slept in too long.  The girls read a bunch of books (I mostly read motorcycle travel magazines - which is another blog for another time).

It was just nice to be back together as a family for a while. Katie was home.  Megan had time off work.  It was great!!!

So you can imagine why I was dreading this Sunday morning.  Holidays ended for me today.....  and it is always really hard going back.  

After doing nothing but acting selfishly.... doing what I want, when I want.... going where I want.... only dealing with people when I want to..... it is always hard to go back to a job where I have to look after people (In case you have not noticed, I am not normally the most "nurturing" sort of guy.  I have to work at it).  It is way more fun to think only about myself.  It is way easier to solve my problems than to listen to and help with those of other people.  It is nicer to be on my own schedule rather than at the "beck and call" of those who need something.  So I was dreading going back to work.

Until I got there.

I loved this morning.  I loved seeing the people.  I loved the deep conversations.  Don't tell anyone, but I actually like being part of people's lives.  I like being in Estevan.

Is it hard?  Sometimes.  Would I rather be selfish?  Most of the time.  Will I miss the kids and Sari when I am sitting alone in my office?  Of course!

But is it worth doing?  Absolutely! 

So, if they offer me most time off, I will definitely take it..... but until then I will remember the good things of the last few weeks.... I will remember skating as a family and going for walks and breakfast dates and being introduced to "Sherlock" and a thousand other things..... and I will smile as I happily go to work doing something that I love to do.